Vending-machine.



No. 87 3,936. RATENTED DEG. 17.1907. 0. B. FORD & J. N. WOOD. VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 10, 1906.

2 SHEETSSHEHT 1.

Strip. l PE] 'PKTENTED DEG. 17, 1907; c. B. FORD & J. N. WOOD. I

VENDING MACHINE. APPLIOATION IILEDIAUG. 10, 1906.

RETURNccmmrmm.

COUPONS ISSUE A CDIN HERE.

v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES BURTON FORD and James NELSON WOOD, citizens of the United States, of Richmond, State of Vir and useful rovements in -Vending chines; and we. 0 declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as theart to which use the same. Y I

Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in that type of vending machlnes in which the insertion of acoin and the movement ofa lever or crank causes a sein thecounty of Henrico and it appertains to make and ries'of mechanical motions to act that not chines that vend only deliver to the operator the article to be sold, but furnish a receipt to him, as well as retaini one. forthe owner of the machine; and as ifil the recei ts are numbered serially, a complete record of each transaction is made automaticall p The coins deposited be' retained in the c l this order being order of their insertion, an the same as that of the serial numbers of the receipts, it is possible to ident' the depositor of a counterfeit or imperfect coin, for should he present his receipt to the owner or operator of the machine and claim the rivileges a reed upon on the face of the t ckets issuedby the machine, it could be shown that he had failed to de' osit legal'tender coin and that therefore his 0 aim was not valid.

Our invention ap lies particularly to mat1c ets, accident insurance policies and similar certificates of value, and it is therefore of great im ortanoe that ositive'means be provided or checking a attempts to usethe device unlawfully.

' In the accompanying drawings we show, in detail, the construction of one ofour improved vendingmachines.

Figure 1 is a right elevation of the machine, the side casing being removed to show the working parts; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the 'coin inserting slide; Fig. 3 is a front elevaton of a double machine in which the casing has been removed from one section while retained on the other, in order to show the openin necessary on the casing for the operating ever, coin slide and coupon issuing and receiving openings; Fig. 4 IS a Specification (If-Letters Patent. Application fllod August 10. 1906- Serial No. 830.053;

andresidents of the city inia, have invented certain new will enable others skilled in v A view' of a roll of coupons showing the strip and an arrangement of du licate coupons.

In Fig. 1 is shown a slid guide'A". The guide A acts as a rest for the coin, which is su ported b pushes it forwar but at tlie point where the receiving channel A touches this guide it is cutaway sufficiently to permit the coin to drop readily into the channel A. The slide receives the coin at the point shown between arrows (Fig. 1) and 1s made, referably, of metal, cut out enough to a mita coin as shown in Fig. ,2, and has two rojections or ln s, A, A. A carries a re ler A (shown in igs. 1, 3). The slide is held in position by a spiral spring running from A to a pin'in the casing. The roller A engages with the slot an arm A, hung in the shaft A; On the same shaft 1s a lever A? that passes through the casing as shown in Fi s. 1 3. The slide A passes over a circu ar channel with a diam'eterslightly in excess .of that .of the coin'which the machine is designed to receive. This tube or channel A, is closed at the bottom by a receiver or till B, that is su orted on the tube A by pins, as shown in igs. 1, 3..

Directly over the channel A is a shaft B on which is an arm B that occupies the position shown in Figs. 1, 3. This arm fits midway of the channel and is ust long enough to have the coin push against it when the slide enters, on the o ration of the machine.

From the shait connects with a link B WhlCll transmits the motion of the shaft B to the ratchet wheel B". This ratchet ,moves the shaft B on which is a gear C. The gear C forms one of a train of eating that transmit the motion of the ratcfiet shaft to .the pair of rolls B C, and cutter C (Fig. 3). The gear train consisting of C, 030', C multiplies the ratchet motion for the purpose to be hereinafter described.

On a shaft C", Fi s. 1, 3, su ported by the bracket D,.is aratc et wheel B that moves in the direction *of arrow when actuated-by the pawl D. This pawl is set in the hub of the crank or arm B". A' cam plate Dthat projects beyond the periphery is fastened to the ratchet wheel, as shown in Figs. 1, 3. The rotation of the wheel D gradually moves the cam plate D until it trips 8. bell crank D it while the slide e A, working in a B is hung a crank B, that I 'This rod moves in guides D". end is a spiral spring,

This bell crank is shown in Fig. 1, where its down when the tooth, D, is pulled out of the groove D. This rod we call a lockpin. In the position shown in Fig. 1', it clears the slide A. When released, it falls in the pathof the slide and prevents the latter rom bringing a coin inside the machine. This rod carries a sign E, that becomes visible from the outside when the said rod falls.

In front of the feed rolls B, C, is a cutter or shear consisting of the stationary edge E andthe moving blade E pivoted on the stud pin E Between the shears and the feed rolls is a guide, tpreferably of metal, E (Fig.

1). This furnis es a path for the coupons in their assage from the rolls to the casmg slot E. he strip of con ons comes from a roll in the back of the mac line and is mounted on a reel swun in the centers E 11". The shear blade 1 is o erated by a bell crank E (Figs. 1, 3) and a s aft F. This shaft is supported by a bracket F. It is held in osition by a oollar'F (Fig. 1). On' one en( the crank has an anti-friction roller, F. A connecting rod F connects the bell crank E with t e moving cutter blade E. From the shaft A an arm F is hung carrying a pin F.

Having given the mechanical parts required to properly carry out the motions necby small arrows, Fig. 1.

- to drop.

essary to the operation of our machine, we will now describe their order of working. A coin of a predetermineddenomination is inserted in the slide A, at the point indicated The arm A is then drawn down as far as it will go, as shown by dotted lines in Fi 3. The slide is drawn forward by the s otted crank A" until it sto s at the oint indicated by dotted lines in i 1. his carries the coin inside the machine, where it is moved forward until it touches the end of the trip-arm B. This arm is forced back to the position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1. The movement of the trip-arm draws the ratchet B upward, the

awl in this arm slipping over the teeth, this ein the negative 'side of the stroke. The

eran A,'triparm B and slide A, are now in their extreme ositions, and the coin has been brought directly over the tube or chan-,

no] A into which it falls, the sup orting guide being lput away here to permit t e coin e operating arm a is now forced up to its ori 'nal position. The slide returns, drawn y the spring F, but the coin' has dropped into the tube A, thence falling into the receiver or till B. As the trip-arm returns, drawn b the spring G, the ratchet B returns to its st position. The pawl Gr causes the ratchet wheel B to make a )artial revolution. This actuates the train 0 gears C", C, C, C, C, C, and rotates the coupon feed rolls B", C, and cutter C.' A strip of coupon is fed forward beyond the shears E, E, through an opening in the front casing of themachlne. In passing between the rolls, however, the rotary cutter C severs the coupon strip as shown in Fig. 3. It is theinten tion that whenever a new 'roll'of cou ons is ut in the machine, it shall be started t irough the feed rolls until the narrow severed'strip is long enough to be diverted from assing under the shear, and instead, be mat e to follow the path shown in Figs. 1, 3. The coupon is now projecting from the machine and a narrow strip numbered the same as that which motions follow each other in se uence while the slotted crank A is going bac to its first position. An inspection of Fig. 1 will show that the slideA stops before the crank A completes its stroke, and the ratchet B! has moved the gear train and feed rolls while the slide is returning to its original ositioh. The coupon has therefore been fed and severed into two strips, one wide and printed in duplicate or triplicate as desired,and the other a narrow strip bearing numbers to correspond with those on the wide coupon. It is now necessary to cut the coupon in order that the purchaser may receive it without having to tear orv mutilate it. We accomplish this by utilizing the additional motion required to bring the arm A to its extreme first position. In moving from G to G the arm A no longer acts on the slide, but the arm F carrying the pin F, reaches the anti-friction roller .F causing the bell crankE to be tripped. This motion, working through the connecting rod F to the moving shear blade E,'causes the blade to close against the stationary cutting edge E and the coupon is cut off. The narrow strip is not cut, for the reason that the shear is ur osely. made too short to do so. The blar e f is then drawn back by the spring G and the machine-is ready to receive another coin.

At each com lete operation the pawl D in the hub of t e trip-arm B actuates the ratchet D one tooth. The number of teeth in this wheel should correspond with the the tooth D" to slip fromthe groove D in the lock pin 1), the spring G.. original position by someone "having access to the machine, no more coins can be reand this falls by the action of- Until this rod is lifted to liS e'rapao the lock pin D which bears any significant .of the ratchet wheel B,

a from the tube, an arm legend such as machine full, out of .order. This becomes visible from outside through the slot E when the lock pin falls, as shown in Fig. 3.

The machine will not be operative without a coin, either false or genuine, and this 10 coin will have to be of adiameter sullicient to give the trip-arm B its full motion, otherwise the pawl G2 will fail to catch the tooth and no coupon strip will be fed. Should a counterfeit coin be used the machine will operate and receive it; but as the coins fall in order, one

upon the other, a particular coin can be identified by the'numbered strip, and the duplicate numbered coupon received by the depositor can be invalidated.

The coupon that issues to the purchaser may be printed in duplicate or triplicate as hereinbefore mentioned, and it may prove desirable sometimes to have one of these returned to the machine by the purchaser, with his signature and address. In Fig. 3 we show an opening in the casing that is intended for such duplicate cou ons.

The machine can be opene by a door swinging down and held by a lock, as indicated in Figs. 1, 3, or by any convenient device. I

The foregoing description covers all the details of a practical working machine but it is evident that many of the parts may be modified without departing from the invention. We do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown.

What we claim as novel and ask to have protected by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a coin actuated machine, a coin receiving slide, a lug and anti-friction roller on said slide, an exteriorly operating arm for guide in which the" shde moves, a tube and receiving cup atoperating said slide, a

tacheil thereto said cup being removable the end of which traverses a lane common to that of the slide, a shaft alfove-said slide from which the before described arm is suspended, a pawl in the hub j of the arm wherebfy it causes a ratchet wheel to move forward or a fractional part of its circumference at each movement of the saidarm, a ratchet wheel carrying a cam lug, the said wheel receiving motion from the before described arm and pawl, a loek-pin'arranged to close the coin slide, and a device actuated by the cam lug on the ratchet wheel. for permitting the said lock pinto fallwithin the slot in the reciprocating slide, to prevent the introduction of more coins, as herein described.

In a coin actuated machine, a coin receiving slide having a reciprocating movement, a lug and anti-friction roller on said 1 for operating said slide, a shaft from which said arm is suspended, an arm the end of which traverses a plane common to that of the slide, a shaft abovesaid slide from which the saidarm is sus )cndcd, and a locking device to prevent the introduction of more coins, consisting of a ratchet wheel and cam lug thereon, a bell-crank operated by said ratchet and cam lug, a lock pin moving in guides, and having a groove in which a tooth in the end of the bell-crank fits to hold it in a position where it cannot affect the move ment of the coin slide, and means for causing said tooth on the bell-crank to be withdrawn from the groove in the lock pin, permitting it .1:

to fall into a position that prevents the further operation of the coin-slide, as herein described. i

3. In a coin actuated machine, a coin receiving slide, a stationary guide in which the coin slide moves, means for operating said slide consisting of an exteiiorly o crating arm hung on a shaft, an arm suspem ed from said shaft, a roller on the aforesaid slide with which the said suspended arm engages, a shaft above said slide and at right angles thereto, an arm suspended from a shaft, a pawl on said arm, a ratchet wheel with which said )aWl engages, a cam lug on said ratchet wheel, a bell-crank, a lock pin having a groove in which one end of said bell-crank engages, and means for attaching a sign or warning device to .said lock pin, whereby itsv motion when it drops in the path of the coin slide may be utilized to make known outside of the machine that the said machine is no longer operative, as herein described.

4. In a coin actuated machine, a coin receiving device, consisting of a slide, 9. lug and anti-friction roller attached thereto, a stationary guide, and an exteriorly operating arm for operating the slide, a shaft from which said arm is suspended, an arm on the same shaft that carries the o ierating arm engaging with the aforesaid rol ler on said slide, a shaft above said slide, an arm hung therefrom, the end of said arm traversing a path common to that of the slide and arranged to operate a locking device after a'prearranged number of operations, a warning device visible from outside the machine attached to, and forming a part of, said locking device, and a coin receivingcup attached to the coin receiving device and removable therefrom,

as herein described.

5. In a coin actuated machine, a coin receiving device consisting of a slide carrying a lug and anti-friction roller, a stationary guide in which the slide moves, a shaft, an

exteriorly operating arm and an interiorly ing device after the receipt of a rearranged mounted arm, both suspended from the said number of coins, as herein descri ed.

shaft, for operating said slide, a removable coin depository attached to said stationary gg 5 guide, an arm and awl bung to traverse a J plane common to t at of said slide, and a Witnesses: combined locking and exteriorly visible H. O. Enos,

warning device operated by the coin receiv- BRUCE Bows. 

